Thinking of giving up shorting individual names and shorting S&P instead.

DrEvil · May 4, 2016

I tend to do far better going long individual names than I do the S&P. When it comes to shorting, lately it's the same disapointing story that plays out over and over. I have good reasons to believe that the general market is going down, I select the best looking short candidates, then sit back watching in horror as indeed the indexes do go down and my stock shorts just sit there or worse they go up. This has been nawing at me for a while now, and I think I have had just about had enough. It looks like shorting individual names is just not for me. The goal is to make money afterall. If I feel like getting short I should just position in the index and make life easier.

Has anyone else gone through this and arrived at a similar conclusion?

felixbocharov · May 4, 2016

Good luck doing that. For me, it is evident that there is a small-medium tech bubble, but I am not going to short the market because it's the craziest thing you can do.

noddyboy · May 4, 2016

DrEvil said:
I tend to do far better going long individual names than I do the S&P. When it comes to shorting, lately it's the same disapointing story that plays out over and over. I have good reasons to believe that the general market is going down, I select the best looking short candidates, then sit back watching in horror as indeed the indexes do go down and my stock shorts just sit there or worse they go up. This has been nawing at me for a while now, and I think I have had just about had enough. It looks like shorting individual names is just not for me. The goal is to make money afterall. If I feel like getting short I should just position in the index and make life easier.

Has anyone else gone through this and arrived at a similar conclusion?

What stocks are you shorting?

murray t turtle · May 4, 2016

DrEvil said:
I tend to do far better going long individual names than I do the S&P. When it comes to shorting, lately it's the same disapointing story that plays out over and over. I have good reasons to believe that the general market is going down, I select the best looking short candidates, then sit back watching in horror as indeed the indexes do go down and my stock shorts just sit there or worse they go up. This has been nawing at me for a while now, and I think I have had just about had enough. It looks like shorting individual names is just not for me. The goal is to make money afterall. If I feel like getting short I should just position in the index and make life easier.

Has anyone else gone through this and arrived at a similar conclusion?

Yes ;
because its less risky. Its much harder to run 500 up, than one.......................... Besides they could take over 100, 500 stocks @ one time , but NOT likely, for long .LOL Wisdom is profitable to direct.

DrEvil · May 4, 2016

Short WDC from the close yesterday. This is typical of my experience over the last year. Would have made money shorting any of the indexes instead of messing with individual names.

DrEvil · May 4, 2016

murray t turtle said:
Yes ;
because its less risky. Its much harder to run 500 up, than one.......................... Besides they could take over 100, 500 stocks @ one time , but NOT likely, for long .LOL Wisdom is profitable to direct.

Yes, wise words! I have always known this to be true, but for some unknown reason have been fighting against this for quite some time now. It's about time that I take that to heart and stop making things more difficult than they need to be. Thanks.

zdreg · May 4, 2016

DrEvil said:
I tend to do far better going long individual names than I do the S&P. When it comes to shorting, lately it's the same disapointing story that plays out over and over. I have good reasons to believe that the general market is going down, I select the best looking short candidates, then sit back watching in horror as indeed the indexes do go down and my stock shorts just sit there or worse they go up. This has been nawing at me for a while now, and I think I have had just about had enough. It looks like shorting individual names is just not for me. The goal is to make money afterall. If I feel like getting short I should just position in the index and make life easier.

Has anyone else gone through this and arrived at a similar conclusion?

zdreg · May 4, 2016

DrEvil said:
I tend to do far better going long individual names than I do the S&P. When it comes to shorting, lately it's the same disapointing story that plays out over and over. I have good reasons to believe that the general market is going down, I select the best looking short candidates, then sit back watching in horror as indeed the indexes do go down and my stock shorts just sit there or worse they go up. This has been nawing at me for a while now, and I think I have had just about had enough. It looks like shorting individual names is just not for me. The goal is to make money afterall. If I feel like getting short I should just position in the index and make life easier.

Has anyone else gone through this and arrived at a similar conclusion?

a time will come when you will come to the opposite conclusion.

DrEvil · May 4, 2016

Perhaps one day I might re-evaluate. For the moment, it feels like the right conclusion. I really feel, and all my experience has backed up that the money (in stocks) is made on the long side.

Maverickz · May 4, 2016

IMHO you are trying to short too early. Long term, the market is still in an uptrend. Trying to trade against the trend by shorting small corrections and profit takers is a dangerous game indeed. You should be buying the corrections until the longer term trend breaks.